Unspoken Words
by XxDarkXBeautyxX
Summary: Shino doesn't know what to say. But maybe he doesn't have to...


He always watched her from afar, tucked underneath the safety of the tree branches.

Not that he needed to hide, no one noticed him anyway. Truthfully, Shino was just like all the tiny little bugs he made friends with. Usually unseen, and considered creepy and annoying when caught.

Shino appreciated beautiful things, such as the tiny little creatures he protected with his life. He was silent and observant, so beautiful things caught his eye even more easily than the less beautiful. And she was one of those beautiful things.

People didn't often notice her either...maybe that drew him to her as well. Whatever it was, he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She trained relentlessly, usually on her own, unless she was helping her teammates improve. They never seemed to think to help her with her training, so she was usually on her own when practicing her own skills.

Shino could see the way she lingered in the background, eyes on the backs of Neji and Lee. Shino would gaze longingly at her, while she gazed longingly at goals she could never seem to reach.

Tenten

Despite her apparent invisibility, it never stopped her kind heart. Every time Lee got a new bruise or scratch, which happened often, she would rush over and take care of it immediately. She was always there to back Neji up when he needed it, was there to be his sparring partner if he wanted to focus on his defense. They never really noticed the beautiful thing they had access to, but Shino sure did. She was their caretaker, but also their burden.

Shino wanted to be her friend, he wanted to approach her and say something. He was envious of the way she could be in the background like that and still care, not feel resentment. Shino hated feeling these emotions, he wasn't supposed to. He was a shinobi. Why should he care if Hinata and Kiba often did their own thing, often ignored him and focused on one another or even others? Whether he should care or not, he did, and he often found himself resenting them. He knew they cared and that he should probably be the one to make the effort to be with them, but he still couldn't help but feel depressed.

Tenten was different, though, and she never let anything get her down. She just tried harder and harder to get people to notice her.

So Shino watched, unnoticed as usual, watched the precise way her weapons always hit her target. Watched the way her eyes scanned the ground and constantly calculated the difference between herself and her target.

Shino couldn't help but want things he shouldn't. He wanted to be the one she ran to when he had a scratch or bruise. He wanted to be the one she was there for whenever he needed a sparring partner. Shino would do things differently though. He'd treat her like she was one of his friends, one of his little bugs that he held so dear to him. He'd acknowledge her beauty and kindness.

Shino wanted to be near her, he wanted to walk with her. But fate always seemed to have a different idea. Because Shino would never go up and tell her these things. He couldn't just walk up to someone and just like that tell them how he felt. His family had taught him different. Tenten was on a different team, and was not one he should betray such weak emotions too.

She would never notice him anyway.

Shino had lost track of things as he got lost in thought about his circumstances. His eyes remained fixed on the ground and he got a crease in his brow, as he stared with a frown at the green grass. He didn't notice that the clash of her weapons against targets had stopped, or even the soft footsteps padding his way.

"Shino! You're here again-"

Shino's ears twitched and he looked up, not betraying his surprise, not that she could've seen it through his dark shades and hood.

"-have I been practicing in your training spot?" Tenten continued curiously, her hand clenched up at her chest.

'Am I intimidating her?'

Shino shook his head. He was not only ashamed at being caught, but ashamed that she seemed to know he'd been there before. And ashamed that he hadn't noticed her approach because he was so deep in thought. Things like that could get him killed on the battlefield.

"No." Shino's deadpan voice answered hers smoothly. "I..."

Shino had never been at a loss for words before. Usually he didn't have much to say, but when he did, he could speak them without fear. But today, his words got caught in his throat, and he honestly wasn't sure how to explain his actions.

He was caught off guard as he felt a hand touch his shoulder. And then he heard a giggle. He looked up at her face and stared in awe at her smiling face.

"You're kinda funny." Tenten noticed, letting another laugh escape. "Why don't you train with me? It's summer time, so it's the best time to be out in the sun!"

Shino furrowed his eyebrows, unsure on how to respond to that.

Tenten studied him and then grinned, "Well come on then! I won't let you go easy on me, ya know!"

Shino again didn't answer, but Tenten didn't seem to care. She grabbed his hand and began to drag him off towards her little training spot. Although Shino couldn't speak, he quickly got into what was going on, easily falling into training with her.

Guess some things were better left unsaid...and maybe fate could finally hear his unspoken words.


End file.
